MDI Commercial Services

“The executive committee consists of the chair of the board, vice chair, treasurer and past chair. The executive committee shall have all the powers of the board of directors if action is required between meetings of the board of directors.”

“All directors and officers have a business relationship. The business relationship is an employer/employee relationship at minnesota diversified industries, inc, a related 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.”

“The directors elected to the board of directors of minnesota diversified industries, inc.; mdi government services; and mdi hired hands, all related organizations, are also elected to the board of directors of mdi commercial services.”

“A draft of form 990 will be reviewed and approved by the finance & audit committee, which will report significant items to the board. The full 990 is also made available to the board before filing.”

“The policy is brought to the attention of the board of directors at least annually at a regular meeting and recorded in the minutes of such meeting. Board members have specifically agreed to disclosure of any potential conflict of interest relating to the subject matter of a meeting of the board of directors or a committee on which they serve, and withdrawal from such meeting during the discussion of, and the vote on, the subject matter that results in the potential conflict of interest. Additionally, each board member signs a conflict of interest statement.”

“The executive committee of the board is responsible for determining compensation of officers and key employees. The process includes review and approval by independent persons, comparability data and contemporaneous substantiation of the deliberation and decisions. This process was most recently undertaken in 2024.”

“The organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements available to the public upon request.”

“Mdi commercial services is one of four related nonprofit corporations, which also include minnesota diversified industries, inc.; mdi government services; and mdi hired hands. These nonprofit corporations work together to serve people with disabilities by offering inclusive employment opportunities and services. The organizations file separate form 990's with the irs each year. The separate form 990's each present only a piece of the organizations' programs, and should be viewed in conjunction with one another to understand the actual operations as a whole. We recommend that the reader of the form 990's also review the consolidated financial statements of mdi, inc. And affiliates, which provide the most meaningful financial representation of the organizations. The financial statements are posted on our website, www.mdi.org, and are available upon request.”

“For over 60 years, mdi has accumulated a significant amount of institutional knowledge regarding how to increase the employability of people with disabilities by intentionally developing employees' skills, behaviors and work experiences in our inclusive work places, emphasizing our core values of employee first, customer focused, respect, do the right thing and empower individual ability. With this knowledge, mdi created and continues to grow and invest in our unified work program. After completing research supported by the center for appled research and educational improvement with the university of minnesota we are now creating curriculum specialized for people with disabilities. The goal of the curriculum is to help increase a person's "employability", helping mdi achieve its vision of meaningful employment for all people with disabilities, while giving opportunities for the participants to experience success. There are two main areas of focus for our current program: academy classes 1. Create the curriculum based on the research completed which will provide a diverse selection of trainings. This curriculum will build on the existing course already offered. 2. Delievery of the training through live in-person and virtual classes and through an online learning management system. Experiential learning 1. Provide virtual reality work experiences in a variety of industries to people with disabilities and deliver these experiences. 2. Offer stem experiences to help people with disabilities see themselves. All efforts associated with unified work.”

“Mdi is a social enterprise operating with a workforce of both individuals with disabilities and without disabilities. Individuals with disabilities develop skills with support and training, gaining work experience while earning competitive wages and benefits. Placement or advancement of these individuals with disabilities in meaningful competitive employment inside or outside of the company is inherent in our mission. Mdi also offers work and training programs for schools, county and rehabilitation agencies in the community. Mdi's vision is to grow the number of jobs for individuals with and without disabilities.”

“The process for oversight and selection of an independent accountant has not changed from the prior year.”